Torpedo-placer.



E. P. S. ANDREWS.

TORPEDO PLACER.

APPLIOATION FILED FEB. 1, 1910.

Patented Dec; 27, 1910.

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EDWARD P. S. ANDREWS, OF WEST WINDHAM, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

TORPEDO-PLAGER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 27, 1910.

Application filed February 1, 1910. Serial No. 541,258.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD P. S. AN- DREWS, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of West Windham, in the county of Rockingham and State of New Hampshire, have invented a new and Improved Torpedo- Placer, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The invention is an improvement in torpedo placers of the character disclosed in Letters Patent Number 908,192, granted to me December 29, 1908, wherein a handle bar or support has a rail shoe attached at its lower end, with a guide extended down the bar and shoe for directing the torpedoes to the rail, the guide of the handle bar preferably having a guard or casing to insure the safe transit of the torpedo.

The present invention has in view a. footplate by which the placer is conveniently held in operative position, the foot-plate being vertically adjustable on the handle bar and hinged thereto to respectively accommodate the placer to the normal elevation of the car platform, and adapt it to swing vertically to compensate for the variation of this elevation, due to the swaying and working of the car on its springs.

The invention further resides in constructing the guard with an open front, so that the torpedoes can be easily dislodged should they become stuck in sliding down the guide; and the provision of means for holding a. plurality of torpedoes at the upper end of the handle bar in such a manner that they can be successively released.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the Views.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a torpedo placer constructed in accordance with my invention, the placer being shown in operative position at the rear platform of a car and the guard of the placer partly brolzen away; Fig. 2 is a frontelevation of the placer in operative position, wit-h the guard partly broken away; Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view of the rear side of the placer,

showing the foot-plate hanging down along the length of the handle bar, as when it is in inoperative position; Fig; 4 is a fragmentary rear elevation of the rail shoe ofthe placer, showing its connection with the handle bar; and Fig. 5 is a perspective View of a torpedo carrier and its attached torpedo.

A support or handle bar 10 is of such length as to extend from a pointconveniently accessible above the platform of a car to the track, and is bifurcated at its lower end to receive a shoe 11, to which it is riveted or otherwise suitably secured, the handle bar having a torpedo guide 12, which is shown to extend its full length at its front edge and merges into a downwardly and forwardly-inclined guide 13, forming the front of the shoe, the shoe also having a downwardly-extended flange 14 arranged at one side to engage the side of the rail, the construction thus far described being not substantially different from the torpedo placer disclosed in the Letters Patent above referred to.

A foot-plate 15 for retaining the torpedo placer in operative position is hinged to a leaf 16, which, as shown in Fig. 3, is vertically slotted near each end, one of the slots receiving a retaining screw 17, and the other a thumb-screw 18, both screws being threaded into the rear side of the handle bar, with the leaf arranged longitudinally thereof so that the foot-plate can be adjusted to accommodate the torpedo placer to the normal elevation of the car platform and allow the placer to swing vertically to compensate for the variation in this elevation, due to the swaying and swinging of the car and the working thereof on its springs when the car is in motion. The guide 12 at the front of the handle bar is partially covered over by a guard or casing 19, the central portion of which is removed or open so that should a torpedo become lodged in its transit down the guide it can be readily released. The upper end of the handle bar is shown to have an attached spade handle 20, and adjacent to or near this handle the handle bar is provided with a number of apertures 21, spaced distances apart slightly greater than the length of the torpedo carrier. In each aperture is removably insertible a pin 22 having a chain or other flexible member 23 connecting it to the handle bar to prevent the pin from being lost.

The torpedo carriers as shown in detail inFig. 5, have inwardly-turned flanges 24 at opposite sides, spaced apart to fit over the guide of the placer and the head of the rail, the top of the carrier having the torpedo 25 suit-ably applied.

In using the torpedo placer, the same is grasped by the spade handle and swung over the platform of the car, and the flange 14 of the shoe brought into engagement with the rail. The foot-plate if in need of adjust ment, is shifted to the proper point by loose'ning the thumb-nut or screw 18, the latter being again tightened after adjustment is obtained. The left foot is then placed on the footplate to retain the placer in opera tive position, and one or more of the torpedoes released by drawing out the retaining pedo guide adaptedto fed torpedoes to the rails when the train is in motion, and a foot plate to retain the placer in operative position, hinged to the placer to adapt the latter to swing. in a vertical plane to accommodate itself to the rail.

3 A portable torpedo placer comprisinga handle bar, a rail shoe attached to the lower end of the handle bar,- the handle bar and rail shoe having a guide for directing the torpedoesonto the rails, and a foot-plate to retain the placer on the car, having a hinged connection with the handle bar to adapt the placer to swing in' a vertical plane to accommodate the shoe to the rail.

4. In a torpedo placer, the combination of a handle bar, a rail shoe attached to the lower end of the handle bar, the handle bar and rail shoe having a torpedo guide to direct the torpedoes onto the rails, and a foot-plate to retain the placer in operative position, adjustable along the length of the handle bar and having a hinged connection therewith to accommodate the shoe to the rail and adapt the foot-plate to extend outwardly from the handle bar or along the length thereof.

5. A torpedo placer having a torpedo guide to feed torpedoes to the rail when the train is in motion, and a ard arranged over the guide to insure sa .e transit of the torpedoes, and open at the front, whereby the torpedoes are accessible along the length of the guide.

6. The combination of a handle bar, a rail shoe attached to the lower end of the handle bar, the handle bar and rail shoe having a guide to direct the torpedoes onto the rails, and means to retain a plurality of tor pedoes at the upper portion of the handle bar in such a manner that they can be successively released.

7. The combination of a handle bar, a rail shoe attached to the lower end of the handle bar, the handle bar and rail shoe having a guide to direct the torpedoes onto the rails, and torpedo-retaining-pins relnovably insertible at the upper portion of the handle bar.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

EDWARD P; S. ANDREW'S.

Witnesses:

J. W. DINSMOR, C. E. BUTTRIOK. 

